I see horror impact of knife crime on my ward
ASCHOOL fight is usually a moment of stupidity caused by a flash of anger over a silly argument. Most of them, i nvolving fists and some rough and tumble, blow over very quickly.
But when a child has a knife in school, they are much more likely to use it – and that fight can destroy two lives, as we have seen in the appalling t r agedy of Bailey Gwynne.
As a surgeon, I have operated on many children with horrific knife injuries. I have spent many hours in theatre working on teenagers with a ‘Glasgow smile’ – where a blade has been drawn across their face to leave a mark for life.
It is not just gangs or children from deprived families at risk from these weapons – it is middle-class pupils, it is everyone.
I j oined the charity Medics Against Violence to try to educate schoolchildren. During visits to schools, I have spent time with youngsters aged 12 to 16. We talk about the reasons why they might want to carry a knife.
Happily, from some children the response was that they might need a knife if they were going fishing. But others have told me they would want one for protection, to make them feel safe.
Some would carry a knife out of bravado, and if they were concerned about bullying, thought that a blade in their pocket might help them feel secure or tough. They wanted a knife because they were frightened.
What these pupils don’t realise is that, statistically speaking, if you carry a knife you are more likely to have it used against you.
The message for these children needs to be clear. If you come to school with a knife, you will be immediately suspended, the police will be called and you could get a prison sentence.
In the West of Scotland, where I work, there is zero tolerance of weapons in schools and there should be no exceptions to this.
We don’t want to see metal detectors beyond the school gates. That would be horrendous, a sign that things had got out of control. Scotland is not America.
But action is needed. I worry particularly about the internet because it is too easy for children to buy weapons or knuckledusters online, as Bailey’s killer was able to do.
I wish I had a solution to that problem, and I know education is an important answer. You can’t just tell t eenagers: ‘ Don’t bring knives to school.’
They are children and telling them not to do something doesn’t work because it is forbidden – a surefire way t o make i t more appealing.
INSTEAD we t each them what might happen as a result of their choices: showing them examples of a person who has killed someone and is in prison, someone stabbed to death through being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and another person left paraplegic following a stab wound to the neck.
We teach kids how to avoid trouble, even doing something as simple as crossing the street if they see a group of boys hanging around.
Alcohol is also an important factor, as youngsters need to understand that drink can lead to heightened e motions a nd loss of control.
As a maxillofacial surgeon, I have seen a depressingly high number of children with knife injuries to their face, head and neck, who are horrifically injured.
Their scars will heal slowly over a year or two but the psychological scars of being attacked with a knife will last for ever.
Young people can struggle to find jobs. They can be left with post- traumatic syndrome as a response to their injuries and depression is common.
They can be marked for life.
We know cases like this are becoming rarer among children, as in other age groups in society.
The tragedy of Bailey Gwynne is very unusual and I hope it will be an isolated event.
Medics Against Violence have hundreds of healthcare workers visiting schools to help reduce the chances of it ever happening again.
When parents send their children to school, it should not even have to cross their mind that any violence could happen there.
Our schools should be places of safety.
Dr Jeff Downie is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon in the West of Scotland, and director of charity Medics Against Violence.